Postgame: Morneau's homer, Deduno's outing, Sano's situation

Blog Post by: La Velle E. Neal III

July 27, 2013 - 8:36 PM

Three thoughts following the Twins' victory over Seattle

1. MORNEAU'S HOME RUN: His father, George, celebrated a birthday on Thursday. Did he ask for a home run. ``He always asks for one,'' Justin said. Morneau finally connected with one, his first since July 8 - when he buried on in the center field bleachers in the seventh inning. Was that for dad? ``He got a nice birthday card and a hug from his grandkids,'' Morneau said with his trademark smirk on his face. It could a present to a contender, because the Orioles and Pirates had scouts in attendance on Saturday, and Morneau could be an option. It was a good game for a scouts to check out because Seattle has a couple of hitters in Raul Ibanez and Kendrys Morales.

2. DEDUNO DELIVERS: Deduno would be the perfect No. 4 or No. 5 starter on a winning team. On this Twins team, he might be their best starter. What the Twins need to determine now is if Deduno can deliver these outings frequently. If so, then he's got a spot in their rotation of the future. Opponents don't like facing him because they can't pick up the ball.

3. MIGUEL SANO: The third base prospect didn't start for the fourth straight game at Class AA New Britain. Some fans already are questioning the Twins for being too hard on him after pimping his home run on Tuesday. Keep in mind that 1. We don't know what was said between Sano and Terry Ryan. 2. A team has every right to stop a kid from showboating. If they let it go now, what's going to happen when they reach the majors? 3. Eddie Rosario was benched, returned to the lineup and was promoted to New Britain. Oswaldo Arcia was pulled from a game, returned and hit a home run yesterday. Brad Steil, the Twins director of minor leagues, told me that the organization doesn't want to take away their personality, but it has to be channeled the right way. Growing pains, folks. Anyone who watched Sano's 30-second home run trot knows that's wrong for a 20-year old. And if he gave a bad response to Ryan, that's also the wrong thing to do.